Air diffuser



Feb. 25, 964 c. T. DEMUTH ETAL 3,122,037

AIR DIFFUSER Filed Oct. 11, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TORS,

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b- 1964 c. T. DEMUTH ETAL 3,122,087

AIR DIFFUSER Filed 001;. 11, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I INV EN TORS. C1. APMOPE TEE/70771. A/PMlN/US 5. DEMUTH.

United States Patent 3,122,987 AER DH FUSER Clarnrore T. Demuth andArrninius S. Deniuth, h'iineola,

N.Y., assignors to Charles enruth & Sons, lino, Muicola, N.Y., acorporation of New York Filed Get. 11, 1%0, Ser. No. 61,918 3 Claims.(Cl. S-dil) This invention relates to apparatus for discharging anddiffusing air, and more particularly, to such apparatus which dischargesand difiuses air from a duct into a room for ventilating or airconditioning purposes, for example.

Heretofore, the use of air distributors and diffusers has been wellknown in the art. Such difiusers are usually located in the ceiling of aroom either at its center or at least at a location remote from any ofthe walls so as to diffuse and discharge air into the room in alldirections. However, present architectural trends render such apparatusconsiderably less effective for maintaining comfortable conditions.Thus, the more modern structures use a considerable amount of glasswindow area which provides relatively uninsulated surfaces so that theregions within a room adjacent such windows are usually warmer or colderthan other regions in the room. Accordingly, a primary object of thepresent invention resides in the provision of apparatus for distributingand diffusing hot or cold air, as desired, in a manner to circulatesubstantially throughout the room, and also to direct a sheet of airalong a wall or vertical surface of the room such as along a windowarea, for example.

As a feature of the invention, there is provided an air diffuser anddistributor which is rectangular in configuration, and comprises a frameor take-off pipe for attachment to an air supply duct. The take-o pipeincludes a first Wall which flares outwardly and downwardly at arelatively sharp angle to the air supply duct, and a second wallopposite the first wall extending downwardly from the duct at arelatively abrupt angle. A pair of opposed, substantially vertical wallsconnect the respective ends of the first and second walls and a seriesof adjustable vanes extend between the pair of opposed substantiallyvertical walls. Such a diffuser may conveniently be mounted in a ceilingadjacent a window area with the second wall, that is the wall extendingdownwardly from the duct at a relatively abrupt angle closest to thewindow, while the first wall extending outwardly and downwardly at arelatively sharp angle to the duct is furthest from the window; and thevanes are adjustable so as to control the amount and direction of airsupplied to the room. In consequence of such an arrangement, it will beappreciated that a sheet of air will be directed downwardly just infront of the window area, while the remaining air may also be directeddownwardly or at varying angles into the room. The rectangular contourof such a diffuser blends well with the present architectural trend andalso contributes to the appearance of uniformity where a plurality ofsuch diffusers are utilized in a room in alignment with one another, asfor example where a plurality of windows are in a room to be ventilated.

In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the vanes aregenerally V-shaped in cross-section and are individually adjustableabout axes extending between the pair of opposed parallel walls andparallel to the ridge line of the vanes, respectively. The number ofvanes may of course vary with the size of the particular diffuser whichwill depend upon the size of the space to be served thereby in relationto the conditions intended to be main tained therein. Preferabl, theapices of at least two of the vanes are directed towards one another sothat air entering the room may be directed generall towards the3,1Z2fi37 ?atented Feb. 25, 1964 center of the room and at the same timeaway from the center and towards the window area. In fact, in order toobtain maximum control, at least one or two of the vanes immediatelyadjacent the diffuser wall closest the window area are flatter, that isless acute, than those adjacent the opposite wall of the diffuser.

As a further feature of the invention, each vane is provided with aprotrusion extending longitudinally thereof and within the angle thereofand parallel to the respective axes thereof to cause turbulence andaspiration of the room air with the ventilating air being suppliedthrough the diffuser.

There has thus been outlined rather broadly the more important featuresof the invention in order that the detailed description thereof thatfollows may be better understood, and in order that the presentcontribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course,additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafterand which will form the subject of the claims appended hereto. Thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which thisdisclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for the designingof other structures for carrying out the several purposes of theinvention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded asincluding such equivalent construction as do not depart from the spiritand scope of the invention, in order to prevent the appropriation of theinvention by those skilled in the art.

A specific embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes ofillustration and description, and is shown in the accompanying drawingsforming a part of the specification, wherein:

FlG. i1 is a fragmentary, perspective view of a portion of a room withthe ceiling broken away and illustrating the position of a difiuseraccording to the present invention in relation to a window in the room;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view, partly broken away, takenalong the line 22 of FIG. 1;

PEG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the difiuser of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

Referrin now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1 thereof,there is shown a room comprising a wall 1%, a window 11 mounted therein,and a ceiling 12 cut away to reveal an air duct 14 which mayconveniently connect with a header 15 with which a difiuser 16 inaccordanm with the present invention in turn communicates. As shown inFIGS. 1 and 3, the diffuser is of the flush type and has a rectangularface exposed to the interior of the room with its longer sides parallelto the wall it in which the window 11 is mounted. The diffuser may besupported from the building structure by bolts 18, if desired.

As has been stated, the diifuser of the present invention includes atake-off pipe or frame which is designated generally by the referencenumeral 17. Actually, as shown in FIGS. 2, 4- and 5, the takeoff pipe isa short inward extension of a rectangular flanged facing 19 and connectswith the header 15, although it will be understood that where the duct14- is large enough, the talre-ofi pipe may be connected directly to itwithout the need of a header. The take-oil pipe has a pair of opposedvertical walls 2% connecting the ends of walls 21 and 22 which extendlengthwise of the diffuser.

As best shown in FIG. 5, the wall 21 is positioned fur ther from theroom Wall 1 5 than is the Wall 22, and flares outwardly and downwardlyof the header 15, or duct where no header is used, at a relatively sharpangle such as about to the plane of the ceiling, for example,

while the opposite wall 22 extends downwardly of the header at arelatively abnupt angle of the order of 90 for example. The upper end ofthe wall 21 has an integral vertical lip 24 for convenience inconnecting same to the header.

A series of vanes 25 extends from one vertical wall 2% to the other andbetween the walls 21 and 22, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. The vanes arepreferably generally V- shaped in cross-section (FIG. and are supportedon rods 26 which are connected at their ends as by Welding,

to rods 27 mounted on the walls respectively, by clips 29 securedthereto. The vanes shown comprise two types, those designated a (HQ. 5)wherein the apices are adjacent the respective axes 26, and thosedesignated 2512 wherein the apices are spaced above the axes 26. Asshown in P16. 5, each vane 25 may have the lower leg thereof folded backupon itself as at 39, and then folded back about its respective rod 26to frictionally engage the same so that the vanes are independentlyadjustable about the axes of rods 26 andalso are provided with aprotrusion 3l'adjacent its rods 26 within the angle of the V for apurpose to be later described.

It will be seen that for maximum control and diffusion, several vanesnearest the wall 22 have their apices directed towards the wall 21 Whilethe opposite is true for the remaining vanes. in this connection, itwill be appreciated that the total number of vanes, as well as thedirectional disposition thereof relatively to the walls 21 and 22 andthe angle of the apices thereof may be varied according to theparticular needs of each installation. The several vanes adjacent thewall 21 may be so formed as to have their apices or ridge lines closerto their upper than to their lower ends thus to render them comparablein crosssection to the combined cross-sectional disposition of the wall21 and its lip 24.

In operation, air moving through the duct i l is directed downwardly inthe header 15 and moves through the diffuser and into the room. The airmay be directed substantially directly downwardly by setting the vanesas shown in solid lines in FIG. 5, the uppermost edge of the vaneclosest to the Wall 21 cooperating with the lip :24 to prevent air frompassing between that vane and the wall :21; or, the vanes may beindependently adjusted pivotally about their respective axes 26 todirect the air as desired into the room. 'But in any case, a sheet ofair will always flow downwardly between the wall 22, nearest the roomwall 10, and the adjacent vane 25, and thus downwardly into the room andtowards the window or other wall area at a slight angle thereto.

The protrusion 31 formed on each vane serves to create a turbulence inthe air moving past it so that as the air enters the room it aspiratesroom air along with it and thus reduces to a minimum temperaturevariations in different parts of the room. It will be appreciated thatit is within the scope of the present invention to form bothwalls 21 and22 at a shmp or abrupt angle to the header, and that all of the vanesmay take the form of those designated 25:: or 25b, according to theparticular effect desired.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the presentinvention contributes a diffuser capable of circulating air throughout aroom and also of directing a sheet of air along a vertical surface suchas a window for example. It will also be seen that the direction of theair streams may be controlled by independent adjust-.

ment of the. vanes and that the rectangular configuration 0f thediffuser, in addition to rendering it admirably suited for its intendedpurpose, also blends with present architectural concepts and contributesto the appearance of uniformity where several dilfusers are used in thesame room.

What is claimed is:

l. in a room air diffuser for placement in a ceiling adjacent a verticalpartition and adapted to direct air from an air duct inwardly towardsthe center of a room and also downwardly along the face of a partition,2 take-off pipe for attachment to an air duct, said pipe including afirst wall extending outwardly and downward ly and adapted to extend ata relatively sharp angle to said ceiling, a second Wall opposite saidfirst wall and adapted to be located in a ceiling and adjacent apartition, said second wall extending downwardly from a duct and at arelatively abrupt angle to a ceiling, a pair of opposed substantiallyvetrical walls connecting the respective ends of said first and secondwalls to form a rectangular outlet for said take-01f pipe and a seriesof adjustable vanes extending between said opposed substantiallyvertical walls, said vanes being generally V- shaped in cross-sectionand being individually adjustable about axes extending between said pairof opposed walls and parallel to the ridge lines of said vanes,respectively, and said vanes each having a protrusion extendinglongitudinally substantially the full length thereof within the anglethereof adjacent and parallel to the respective axis thereof to causemixing of air passing through said diffuser with air in the room, saidprotrusions being formed of an extension of one leg of each vane foldedback upon itself and then about its respective pivot rod.

2. In an air cirfuser of the character described, atake oil pipe forattachment to an air duct, and a series of adjustable vanes extendingbetween a pair of opposed parallel walls of said pipe, said vanes beinggenerally V- shaped in cross-section and adjustable about respectivelycorresponding axes extending between said pair of opposed walls andparallel to the ridge line of said vanes, respectively, protrusions oneach of said vanes adjacent the axis thereof and extending the fulllength thereof, each protrusion being formed of an extension of one legor" its respective vane folded back upon itself and terminating adjacentits said axis, said protrusions causing mixing of air passing throughsaid diffuser with air in a room.

3. in an air difiuser of the character described, a takeoff pipe forattachment to an air duct, and a series of advanes adjacent the thereofand extending the full length thereof, each protrusion being formed ofan extension of one leg of its respective vane folded back upon itselfand terminating adjacent its said axis, said protrusions can 'ng of airpassing through said diffuser with ai in room.

References tilted in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,074,518 Sandberg Mar. 23, 1937 2,224,3l2l ODay Dec. 10, 1940 2,568 04Wallen Sept. 18, 1951 2,672 Orr Mar. 16, 1954 2,9"6562 Kurth et al. Nov.18, 196 0

1. IN A ROOM AIR DIFFUSER FOR PLACEMENT IN A CEILING ADJACENT A VERTICALPARTITION AND ADAPTED TO DIRECT AIR FROM AN AIR DUCT INWARDLY TOWARDSTHE CENTER OF A ROOM AND ALSO DOWNWARDLY ALONG THE FACE OF A PARTITION,A TAKE-OFF PIPE FOR ATTACHMENT TO AN AIR DUCT, SAID PIPE INCLUDING AFIRST WALL EXTENDING OUTWARDLY AND DOWNWARDLY AND ADAPTED TO EXTEND AT ARELATIVELY SHARP ANGLE TO SAID CEILING, A SECOND WALL OPPOSITE SAIDFIRST WALL AND ADAPTED TO BE LOCATED IN A CEILING AND ADJACENT APARTITION, SAID SECOND WALL EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY FROM A DUCT AND AT ARELATIVELY ABRUPT ANGLE TO A CEILING, A PAIR OF OPPOSED SUBSTANTIALLYVERTICAL WALLS CONNECTING THE RESPECTIVE ENDS OF SAID FIRST AND SECONDWALLS TO FORM A RECTANGULAR OUTLET FOR SAID TAKE-OFF PIPE AND A SERIESOF ADJUSTABLE VANES EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID OPPOSED SUBSTANTIALLYVERTICAL WALLS, SAID VANES BEING GENERALLY VSHAPED IN CROSS-SECTION ANDBEING INDIVIDUALLY ADJUSTABLE ABOUT AXES EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID PAIR OFOPPOSED WALLS AND PARALLEL TO THE RIDGE LINES OF SAID VANES,RESPECTIVELY, AND SAID VANES EACH HAVING A PROTRUSION EXTENDINGLONGITUDINALLY SUBSTANTIALLY THE FULL LENGTH THEREOF WITHIN THE ANGLETHEREOF ADJACENT AND PARALLEL TO THE RESPECTIVE AXIS THEREOF TO CAUSEMIXING OF AIR PASSING THROUGH SAID DIFFUSER WITH AIR IN THE ROOM, SAIDPROTRUSIONS BEING FORMED OF AN EXTENSION OF ONE LEG OF EACH VANE FOLDEDBACK UPON ITSELF AND THEN ABOUT ITS RESPECTIVE PIVOT ROD.